Cold calling is not only the most hated way of attempting to make a sale - it's also the least effective. Most salespeople have less than a 10 percent return, meaning for every hundred sales calls they make, only a handful of people are receptive. So why is cold calling still such a popular method?

Most people do not believe there is another way. They think the more people they talk to, the more likely they are to make a sale. They just have to keep calling until they hit that one receptive buyer who is both interested in the product and in a position to make the purchasing decision. These sellers may not be wrong - but they are ineffective.

"Do not fall into the trap of mistaking activity for results," says self-proclaimed "reformed cold caller" and bestselling author Anthony Parinello. In his new book, Stop Cold Calling Forever: True Confessions of a Reformed Serial Cold Caller, Parinello offers another way to excel at phone sales.

He starts with a principle so simple as to be overlooked most of the time: don't call prospects at random, only call those who are predisposed to buy from you. He advises salespeople to take inventory of their current clients. By examining similarities in their current client base, and by researching prospective clients, salespeople can identify a pattern that will predict which potential clients are strong possibilities.

Much of Parinello's advice follows similar lines, offering easy suggestions in such a common sense manner that will leave many salespeople wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Parinello identifies the main players in the purchase of a product--recommenders, influencers, decision makers, and approvers--and identifies the concerns most relevant to each. Three-quarters of salespeople do not meet their sales quotas because they are getting appointments with the wrong people. Those who do get the appointment often lose a sale because they are using the wrong language. By tailoring their words (never a script) to the company and to the specific person on the other end of the phone, salespeople can make their pitch more effective.

It is not enough to make a great pitch on the phone. Salespeople will have greater success if they

*research their client beforehand

*cut out magazine or newspaper articles showing their product in a positive light

*subscribe to trade publications so they are knowledgeable in their customers' fields

*find other ways of getting the buyer's attention.

Stop Cold Calling Forever is full of tips like these to make the inevitable sales call less painful and more successful.

Parinello urges salespeople to think in different terms - opening a business relationship rather than closing a sale. Innovative thinking and an irreverent style, in addition to useful and common sense sales tips, make this book an essential for all salespeople.

For more information, please check out www.entrepreneurpress.com.

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About the Author

Anthony Parinello is the author of five books on this subject, including The Wall Street Journal bestseller Think and Sell Like a CEO and the renowned Selling to VITO: The Very Important Top Officer. He has 28 years of sales and marketing experience and has personally trained over one million people.